Matthew Walker News

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued an Australian fishing vessel carrying 26 people that had been stranded in icy Antarctic seas since last week, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The crew was saved on Sunday by the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star, which broke through some 150 miles (240 km) of thick ice on its way to the 207-foot (63-meter) Antarctic Chieftain vessel, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The Chieftain had been stuck about 900 miles (1,450 km) northeast of McMurdo Sound since last Tuesday, after damaging three of its four propellers in the ice, the Coast Guard said. "There were some very happy sailors aboard Antarctic Chieftain upon our arrival," Polar Star commanding officer, Captain Matthew Walker, said in a statement.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew is en route to assist a 207-foot fishing vessel with 26 people aboard beset in ice approximately 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is attempting to reach the crew of an Australian-flagged fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftain, who contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand Tuesday evening for assistance after becoming trapped in the Antarctic ice. The crew of 40-year-old cutter has reported heavy, snow, wind and ice conditions at times as well as large icebergs along their course.